
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 3, 1995                   TAG: 9508030030
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HAVE YOU HEARD THE 1 ABOUT ... ?

Q: For some time now, I've heard people say the Ku Klux Klan is the sole supporter behind Snapple. A lot of people are concerned and won't buy Snapple for that reason, especially in the black community. The claim of KKK support was supposedly made by a Klan member on a talk show.

M.P., Roanoke

A: This rumor is not new, and it certainly isn't news.

The false linking of Snapple to the Klan persists, not because of fact, but because of uncertainty - the fuel of most rumors.

Perhaps the most famous oft-debunked rumor is that the Procter & Gamble stars-and-moon logo proclaims Satan worship.

The Snapple story stemmed from a small K on the Snapple label. Rumor held the letter stood for Klan. Actually, the K means kosher. The drink has been approved under Jewish dietary law.

The three Brooklyn businessmen - Hyman Golden, Leonard Marsh and Arnold Greenberg - who founded Snapple in 1987 have denied the rumor numerous times.

"How could three Jewish boys from Brooklyn support the Ku Klux Klan?'' asked the partners, known as the Three Amigos for their lifelong friendship.

Quaker Oats, a conglomerate whose holdings are not limited to oatmeal, bought Snapple in December. Quaker responds to the Klan rumor the same way the Three Amigos did - up front.

The Snapple rumor is similar to dozens of others directed against corporations and products. Rumors are not limited to the black community; they circulate in all kinds of groups.

Certain products have been named in rumors: fried chicken under Church's and other brands; menthol cigarettes; and athletic wear under the Adidas, Converse, Nike, Reebok and other labels.

The rumors hold that the products either cause sterility in black men, fund the KKK or support whites in South Africa.

According to research by Patricia A. Turner, a professor at the University of California-Davis and author of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," these rumors are rooted in culture.

Information vacuums become filled with anything that's plausible, whether true or not. Names - of governments, powers-that-be or corporations - creep in to sustain the rumors.

According to Turner's book, such rumors need two elements to gain strength: a threat to the overall community and a threat to individuals.

Any reference to the Klan contains both of these elements.

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by CNB